


The Real Monster

by BWolf_20



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Attack, Beginnings of working together, Blood, Daryl & Negan aren't friends, Gen, Whisperers, fight, season 9 inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-28
Updated: 2019-05-30
Packaged: 2020-03-20 17:43:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18997432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWolf_20/pseuds/BWolf_20
Summary: The last thing Daryl wanted was to be stuck on a mission with Negan. He had heard he’d saved Judith, and because of the latest enemy they were in need of as many people as possible. But in Daryl’s eyes he would always be a monster. It didn’t matter that a man called Beta was barreling down on them. He just couldn’t imagine ever being able to trust the bastard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Created for the sole fact that I haven't seen any fic exploring what Daryl and Negan's dynamic could be following the Whisper stuff and season 9, and one that has absolutely no romance between the two. I wanted to create something that could be fitting of the show, where Daryl has to learn to start working with Negan.

“I suppose saving your damn dog counts for nothing.”

He tossed Daryl a grin which he didn’t return at all. He refused to say anything, let alone acknowledge the bastard. Instead Daryl just kept walking, putting more attention in tracking while putting some distance between them. Negan just chuckled and followed behind him.

He still couldn’t believe that Michonne sent him out with the son of a bitch. Before that he was having a hard time believing their idea that Negan could be of use during the fight against the new, bizarre threat. He was relieved that he hadn’t been the only one to fight against the council. It didn’t matter how long he’d been behind bars, nor did it matter that he’d rescued Judith and Dog during the harsh wintry storm. Negan could never be trusted. Besides that, the man was supposed to spend the rest of his life behind bars. It was what Rick wanted. He never said anything about letting Negan out for good behavior.

His face fell as Rick surfaced to his mind. He would have been the one trailing behind him on the hunt for the Whisperer’s new location, not this asshole. 

“Come on Daryl, enough of the silent treatment. I wanna hear your sweet voice,” Negan whined. “Hell, even a damn grunt will do.”

Daryl continued to move while doing his best to ignore him. 

“Michonne wanted you to work with me remember? And if you don’t talk to me, you’re breaking your promise to her. I can’t imagine you want to break promises with Rick’s girlfriend.”

Daryl stopped in his tracks but didn’t turn around.

“Keep your mouth shut about Rick,” he warned coldly, causing Negan’s smile to drop a little. 

“Look, I know you and Rick were tight, but-”

He didn’t get a chance to finish as Daryl swung his fist around, clocking him hard in the jaw. Negan stumbled back with a gasp.

“I told you to shut up about Rick.”

Negan eyed him with quite the serious look. Daryl readied himself with both fists raised. This was such a bad idea. Connie would have been the better choice to come along, because this bastard would just find a way to stab him in the back. They were pretty far into the woods so there was no reason why Negan wouldn’t try something now.

The prisoner raised himself up with a sigh, then he laughed off the hit.

“Just like the first time. Remember when you slugged me all those years ago? I sure do.”

“I remember what you did to Glenn, and Abraham, and everyone else you took from us,” Daryl growled.

“You people won’t ever let me forget that. Makes sense. But in case you haven’t noticed, I paid for it.”

Daryl just shook his head.

“No,” he disagreed. “You would’ve paid by dying.”

“Well I didn’t,” came his reply in a frustrated tone. He met Daryl’s eyes briefly before dropping them down to the ground. “Maggie was gonna do it you know. She came to kill me, the day Rick…you know.”

“I know she did,” Daryl said, surprising him. “It was my job to keep Rick out of the way while she did it.”

He turned away from Negan then as the memory of him and Rick in that hole made his heart squeezed uncomfortably. It didn’t matter what Michonne had said, he would always take some responsibility for it. No one could have foreseen a giant herd or whatever incident that led to Rick bleeding from a hole in his side, but he couldn’t help feeling that some things would’ve been a little bit different if he’d found some other way to make the case for Negan’s execution. 

“I wanted her to do it,” Negan brought up slowly, now surprising Daryl. “I begged her to, but she wouldn’t. She agreed with Rick in the end.”

Daryl had to admit that he was curious as to why the stubborn asshole would have been welcoming death when he was lucky to have been spared by his brother. He shook out of it and turned back to the mission at hand.

“Keep moving,” he ordered as he started walking again. 

“Sure thing boss,” Negan said with a chuckle.

 

After ten minutes of not finding anything, Daryl settled down against a tree for a quick rest break. Negan settled across from him on an opposite tree. 

“This isn’t a sign of you giving up is it?” Negan questioned.

“No.” Daryl glared at him, hating the smile that played on his face. The man was just so happy to be out of his cell. He didn’t give a damn that he was on a mission to help his people take vengeance against the Whisperers. He could imagine Negan being quite pleased at the idea of Alpha and her group wiping his people out. 

“Well, while we’re waiting for you to get some kind of mojo back, why don’t you tell me more about that Beta fellow?” 

Daryl avoided saying anything. In fact he wouldn’t even look at him. 

“I heard there was a leader called Alpha, and a big fucker called Beta. Heard he kicked you ass.”

“You heard wrong,” he snarled.

“But he’s still alive,” Negan countered, grinning. “I hope I get to meet him. I wanna compare sizes, and I’m not talking about our height.”

“Don’t you ever shut up?” Daryl muttered.

“Nope.”

Daryl sighed and leaned his head back against the tree. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep this up with Negan for long. His mind was threatening to snap, and if he snapped an arrow would end up lodged in the man’s head. How he wished Michonne would have stuck him with someone else or at least come up with another way for Negan to prove his trust. But he promised he wouldn’t do anything to the man.

“Since you can’t shut up, why don’t you tell me why you wanted to die?”

The look that crossed his face was quite grave. It was like the man actually felt something other than sadistic joy. He dropped his gaze to the ground before speaking.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he said flatly. “I’d been in there too long. I couldn’t take it. Day after fucking day staring at the damn walls, listening to Rick brag about what he was doing…having nothing. I tried to live like that, but I couldn’t take that shit anymore. I started believing it was supposed to end for me under that tree.”

Daryl observed him closely as he twiddled a twig between his fingers.

“That’s what would’ve happened to me, when you had me in your fucking cell,” he growled. For a minute his mind took him back there, and it only increased his hatred for his current company.

Negan dropped his head back against the tree, then smiled sadly.

“Yeah well, you handled that shit a lot better than I did, and you weren’t in there for fucking years. Even if you had been, you wouldn’t have cracked. Not like me. You’re a tough son of a bitch afterall.”

Daryl wasn’t sure how true that would be. A week in the Sanctuary’s cell was bad enough, especially with Dwight having played the song he refused to think about now over and over again. Negan had made it hell for him in that short period of time, all in an attempt to convert him into a Savior. Had he spent years there, he imagined he would have snapped enough to recklessly make an attempt on Negan’s life. He would have gotten killed for it, but he would have welcomed that as opposed to staying in that dark cell, eating dog food, and listening to the same tune forever.

“You’re wrong,” Daryl finally stated. “I would’ve lost it.”

Negan grinned.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.”

“You didn’t either,” Daryl acknowledge. “Six years following, you didn’t crack.”

Negan dropped his head then and laughed softly.

“No,” he agreed, “When Judith and Gabe started coming around to talk to me, and when I started having more than a bed in my cell, it wasn’t too bad. It’s damn lucky for you I haven’t lost my mind otherwise I wouldn’t be here to help.”

“I’m not sure about that,” Daryl disagreed.

 

After the break, Daryl got back on track with the mission with Negan trailing behind. Every once in a while Negan cracked some joke, but Daryl didn’t respond to it. Annoyed, Negan tried a different tactic.

“So were you always this good? At tracking I mean. Or did you pick this shit up after the world went to shit?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Just thought I’d get to know you better,” he said with a shrug. “Perfect time for it, don’t you think?”

Daryl swerved around as the barely contained rage threatened to erupt. He had had enough of the bastard’s attempt to make friendly. He didn’t buy it. Negan was obviously hoping to gain some trust so he’d lose his guard around him, and when that happened Negan would fuck him over. 

“I know what you’re doing,” he growled.

“What am I doing?” Negan asked curiously.

“You think you can cozy up to me. Make me think you really have changed. Hell, you’re already working your magic on the council. It’s a damn mistake for them to give you a break.”

Negan was shaking his head and smiling in a peculiar way.

“Wait just one fucking second here. Do you really think this is a damn con so I can fuck you over in the end? If I had any intention of doing that shit, don’t you think I would’ve done it when I first escaped?” 

Daryl just stared him down, not convinced. 

“Coming back was your way of trying to build trust. We give you all of it, we’re fucked.”

“Daryl I would never.” He even went as far as to raise his hands in surrender. “Seven years in jail was enough time for me to take a long goddamn look in the mirror. I don’t have my people anymore. I don’t have anything. I realized that when I escaped. That’s why I came back. I knew what I was coming back to. I can’t go back to the man I was, so I’m trying something new. Something I thought was better. You can start helping with that too if you’d just talk to me. We can start over.” 

“Let’s get one thing straight,” Daryl hissed. “We’re not starting over. You and I are not friends and that’s the way it’s gonna stay. After the shit you did…naw.”

He turned and stomped forward, determined to get the mission over with once and for all. 

“Daryl,” Negan called after him. 

“Keep up!” Daryl called back. 

When he faced forward again, something huge barreled into him hard enough to knock him to the ground and send the crossbow flying. The world spun in Daryl’s eyes for a minute, but when it cleared, he saw a very familiar dark figure standing over him.

“Holy shit,” he heard Negan cry.

Beta’s attention shifted to the other man, as did Daryl's. 

“You are one ugly, tall drink of water. Why don't you shift your big ass this way and leave the shrimp alone, unless you're too scared to take me on.” 

It was enough to get the beast to charge for the other beast.


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl reached for the crossbow once he was up, but once again a strong force barreled into him from behind. He turned and saw Beta had help as other Whisperers sprung up.

“Following us?” asked the whisperer who was currently trying to hold Daryl down.

He managed to maneuver his body and knock the man off him. Once the roles were reversed, Daryl laid punch after punch into him.

“Stop, or I shoot.”

Darly stopped and found the other whisperer had his crossbow trained on him. The only other weapon he had was his knives, but he knew he’d wind up a dead man if he popped them out. 

“Goddamn you’re a big motherfucker!”

Daryl turned his attention to Negan who was currently locked in battle with Beta. So far he managed to dodge Beta’s knives while getting in a punch or two across his face. 

“If only I had Lucille.”

Negan backed away just as Beta lunged with a knife and was able to swing his fist into the man’s gut. Daryl stared, finding it a little surprising that he was a little impressed with Negan’s ability to hold his own against the skin-walking brute. He remembered his own struggle against the man, but Negan seemed to be doing better.

But just when he thought such a thing, Beta was able to strike Negan hard enough to knock him into the dirt. Even he had not been able to knock Negan that hard when he’d punched him for tormenting Rosita. Regardless that didn’t stop Negan from laughing it off and getting back to his feet.

“If that’s all you got…you and your people are fucked…they should…call you Omega instead.”

Beta lunged again and Negan caught him as he attempted to drive him into the ground. Daryl took a moment to look at the other whisperers around him. He didn’t understand why they were just letting him sit there watching a fight instead of killing him. Did they just want to subdue him so they could bring them to Alpha alive?

A strangled gasp made Daryl turn back to the fight. Beta had gotten the upper hand with a fierce punch that caused blood to spew from Negan’s mouth. He fell back flat, dazed on the ground.

“That…that all you...got?”

Raged, Beta brought his foot down to stomp on his head, but Negan rolled away in time. He rounded his leg to kick him in the gut, making the beast stumble back. Negan used that moment to jump to his feet and pound on him. Daryl was rooted to the scene. He had never thought much of the bastard’s fighting skills. All he’d come to know was that his strength seemed to rely on the bat. Regardless of his prized weapon, Daryl only saw a man. It didn’t matter that others had been terrified of him. Negan was never anything special, which is why he never feared him. Negan was just another maniac, nothing more, yet watching him give swing after powerful swing into a monster like Beta, made him appear super human.

Negan still had enough energy to doge a punch and mock him.

“You sure you’re Alpha’s right-hand man?”

He swerved then delivered an upper-cut that nearly dislodged his walker mask. 

“Damn it. So close to seeing…how ugly you are under there.”

Beta charged for him again.

“Beta we should go!” one of the Whisperers dared to say in a rather loud whisper. “Not Alpha’s plan!”

“What the hell does she want?” Daryl asked. “What the hell’s the point of this?”

In response he received a hard knock to the head that sent him falling to his side. Before darkness took him, he saw Beta coming toward him after having knocked Negan to the ground. Negan appeared to be struggling to get to his feet again.

 

When Daryl came to, the familiar growls of walkers drifted into his ears. He forced himself to open his eyes and when he did, he had an upside down view of a couple of walkers slowly shuffling toward him. Instinctively he moved his hands to spring up, but that’s when he realized they were tied. Fortunately it was the only part of him that was tied.

With some wild maneuvering he managed to get to his feet. It was then that he recalled he hadn’t been alone out in the woods. He turned to the spot where he last saw Negan and Beta fighting, but Negan was nowhere to be found. The two walkers that were dead set on him kept coming. He kicked one aside as he came uncomfortably close, then turned to the nearest tree.

As quick as he could Daryl began scraping the thin rope on his hand against the rough bark. It looked weak enough to tear so he kept at it. He paused to deliver a back kick when the second walker neared. His hands broke apart just as a walker tried lunging with his mouth wide open. Daryl was faster as he pulled out a knife from his waist and stabbed it in the head. The other walker didn’t fare better as Daryl kicked him against a tree and held him still for the deadly blow.

He took a moment to catch his breath as he stared down at his undead victims. They hadn’t been Whisperers. Naturally they would’ve dropped the act and come at him like a normal asshole, but that didn’t stop Daryl from being suspicious. He cursed at the paranoia that threated to overcome him thanks to the bizarre new enemy.

He turned back to the spot where he’d last seen Negan. Instinctively he believed the man had run off, or worse, made some kind of deal with Beta in order to save his own ass and screw them over. It made more sense than believing anything else. What didn’t make sense was Beta’s sudden attack. The man hadn’t even bothered to kill him. Once Negan got his attention, the man had apparently forgotten that he had become a rival after their first fight. It was all about Negan. The only other idea he had for the man’s disappearance was Beta taking him himself, but even that didn’t make much sense unless Negan talked him into it.

“Damn it.”

He couldn’t go back home without him. Of course going back to get more help was a good first step to take, but Daryl felt more compelled in tracking the man down right away before it bit his people in the ass.

 

As he moved, he thought back to the Whisperer that tried to urge Beta to leave after he got a good ways into the fight. He was reminding Beta it wasn’t their leader’s plan to attack them. Did it mean the three were supposed to do something else with them? Was there some trap in motion? When he couldn’t entertain any good answers, his mind went back to the issue at hand which had him grumbling all over again. 

Five minutes in, he was ready to just turn around and forget it, but something odd caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Daryl turned and saw a bloody looking figure tied up to a tree. He made his way over and first noticed that he wasn’t simply tied at the base of the tree, but held up at least a foot or two off the ground. 

He side stepped around to get a better view of his face which was hanging and dripping blood. It was almost hard to tell that it was Negan. Daryl couldn’t stop staring. He thought the fight had been going well before he was knocked out but at some point Beta managed to pummel him bad. 

He readied his knife as he moved closer. From the looks of it Negan was already dead, yet he couldn’t be fully sure. Carefully he reached for a shoulder, knife in the other hand ready should he so much as rasp. His fingers didn’t even hit the location before Negan jerked with a groan and lifted his head. 

“God…damn.” He squinted against the pain and released a shaky breath. “That fucker…packs a hell of a punch.”

“Where’d he go?”

Negan turned to him and at first appeared confused by his presence. 

“Why isn’t…your ass tied to a tree? Better yet, why haven’t you cut me down yet?” He coughed violently, causing Daryl to jump back as blood flew. He was in bad shape despite how coherent he sounded.

“Thought you were dead. I was waiting for you to turn.”

“Were you... _cough cough_ …really… _cough_ …waiting for me to… _cough_ turn?”

Daryl grimaced and turned away to take in their surroundings. He hadn’t bothered to make sure that they were really alone. From Beta’s set up with Negan, he was tied up to be an easy meal for passing walkers.

“I was. As much as I’d like to kill you, you haven’t screwed me over out here so far, and I might piss off Michonne if I did. Where’d he go?”

Negan managed a shrug as he fell into a harsh fit of coughing. Daryl got to work on cutting the ropes.

“I was too busy…being unconscious to see where he went.”

Daryl didn’t look up at him. Instead his eyes were draw to the blood seeping between the ropes. When he did look up, Negan looked paler. 

“I would’ve thought you’d join up with that son of a bitch,” Daryl admitted as he dropped his eyes again. “Made a deal of some kind.”

Negan actually managed something of a laugh, but it ended in a gasp and more coughing.

“Seems… _cough cough_ …like the shit I’d do,” he agreed. His head lolled to the side and he sighed with deep tiredness. “No…I was trying to…save your ass.”

Daryl stopped and gazed at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He was coming for you…I stopped him.”

Daryl thought back and vaguely remembered Beta walking toward him. It made sense for the big bastard to try and finish him off. As he thought about it, he wished he’d been able to fight him once more.

“I don’t need saving,” he growled. “You should’ve left him to me.”

He ignored the smirk that stretched across the man’s face and just concentrated on finishing cutting him free. Negan fell forward as the ropes fell away, and Daryl just managed to catch him.

“Good old…stubborn ass Daryl,” Negan rasped. 

“Save your breath.”

“You think I was…gonna let him kill you.” He took a moment to catch his breath and when he did, Daryl pulled one of his arms over his shoulder. “We’re in this…together.”

“Gotta get you back to Siddiq before you’re a corpse,” Daryl muttered. He did his best to ignore the scent of blood. 

“Hey!”

Daryl stopped, surprised by the sudden tone. The man was looking him dead in the eyes and appeared to be determined to stay conscious. 

“What?”

“Remember…last samurai… _cough…cough…cough_ …sent us out here as a team. We need to keep that in mind.”

“What the hell are you saying?”

Negan dropped his head and took a minute to breathe before continuing. 

“I’m saying there’s a real monster out there…and we gotta kick its ass.”

Though Negan hadn’t so far done anything to prove to him that he was trustworthy, Daryl couldn’t help believing that he was with them. He did not detect any trickery in his tone. The man had gotta his ass handed to him and now he was ready for vengeance. It wasn’t a bad thing as he wanted vengeance too, but in this case he didn’t see Negan using this as a chance to turn against his people. He was with them, and all Daryl had to do was try and give him something of a chance. 

“Yeah,” he agreed as he took on much of the man’s weight and led him back to Alexandria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very interested to see if there's any chance Daryl and Negan will have to work with each other on the show. Since I was so interested in that, I wanted to write a little something for it.


End file.
